BLACKIE THE DOG

As I've said before, I live in the deep south where we have TWO seasons: January and summer. Well it is January and I'm itching to do something in the yard. So 2 days ago, Sunday afternoon, I went outside to pick up a few branches and other tree debris in the yard to spruce up a little. Hauled it all to the curb for the trash man to pick up. I decided to take a break and go out in the back 40 to see what all needs doing out there. My neighbor's little dog, Blackie, hopped his fence and decided to explore the back yard with me. I was grateful for the company, because I didn't have my what-if-I-see-a-snake clothes/shoes on, and I didn't have my booming bar with me, and Blackie has teeth. Blackie looks like a miniature version of a Doberman. After we looked around in the back 40, we both came back up the hill and I began picking up some branches and tree debris. I hauled that bunch to the curb and when I turned around there was Blackie with a branch in his teeth and he hauled it to the curb and put it with my pile. What a good doggie! Too cute.

Fast forward to Tuesday. My hip has been hurting mainly because I sit like a big jabba-the-hut slug in this chair working all day and walking helps it. So I've been taking a few breaks lately. The daffodils are up, some are budding, some are blooming. I tried to move them last summer to the side of the house from the front of the house but didn't quite get the job done. Now that they are all coming up I decided I might lose a few blooms, but maybe if I just dig up whole clumps of them and move them in clumps with plenty of dirt around the bulbs to their new resting place perhaps they will still bloom. Only thing is, the shovels were all in the shed. I didn't feel like trying to get down the slippery slope to get to the shed, and I knew the back gate was locked, and I had about 10 minutes to do anything and get back to work. I had a hand trowel in the house and thought well, if I only dig up and move one clump at least I did that much. So I came in the house and got the trowel, and headed back out. I moved a couple of individual daffodils and then came back for the clump that probably had 30 bulbs in it. Yes, they rewarded me for not moving them last summer by getting religious. They were fruitful and multiplied. I am trying to get the clump out without disturbing the bulbs. They are about 8 inches deep in the ground and I'm having to move the mulch away from them and then start digging. It was a workout with that trowel. I was bent over, with my backside toward the street, and I had about three-quarters of the circumference of that daffodil clump dug out when Blackie, silent and unbenownst to me, stuck his nose in the crack of my butt. So now I had no choice but to go to the shed to get the ladder to get those daffodils off the roof.